The Best and Worst Texas Cities for a Staycation – Where Does Lubbock Rank?
Wallet Hub just released the 2016 review of the best and worst cities across the country for folks looking to stay close to home while using their time off this summer. We decided to drill down a bit further to see how cities in Texas ranked among the top 150.
You may think New Braunfels, home to the Guadalupe and Comal rivers and the legendary birthplace of Schlitterbahn, or major metros like San Antonio, Dallas, Austin or Houston with their multiple museums, parks, eateries and outdoor activities would top the list. You'd be wrong.
Coming in at no. 35 is a city just to the north of us. Amarillo ranked highest in Texas, primarily based on its "rest and relaxation" rank of 16.
What the heck is a "rest and relaxation" rating? Overall rankings were based at 1/3rd a piece for recreation, food and entertainment and rest and relaxation. R&R includes costs of house cleaning, cost of beauty salon visits, number of wellness and spa centers, number of public beaches and summer weather ranking.
So, Amarillo is the perfect market in Texas to get that spray tan, head to a body of water and get your hair done, all while someone else cleans up your mess at home.
Grand Prairie, Texas is next on the list at no. 45. This burb in the DFW metroplex ranks high in both recreation and R&R, but surprisingly has a very bad score of 149 in the food and entertainment section, which is odd considering its proximity to Six Flags Over Texas. Grand Prairie also appears to be a dirt-cheap place to live too, with an R&R rank of 4, placing it at the top in Texas.
Austin, Texas is next at #70. Opposite of Grand Prairie, Austin ranked well in food and entertainment, but everything else in Austin is both expensive and crowded. Music and BBQ - isn't that what Austin is all about?
Two other DFW burbs, Plano and Garland, ranked back-to-back in the Lone Star State, coming in at no. 79 and no. 80, respectively. While Garland had a better score in the R&R department (possibly due to overall costs of living next door in Plano), neither town fared incredibly well with regard to food and entertainment.
Coastal towns Corpus Christi and Brownsville come in next at nos. 93 and 96 respectively, with Brownsville having an affordable cost of R&R and a score of 11.
Rounding out the Top 100 is Laredo. While it's inexpensive to live in this border town, R&R is really the only great ranking for Laredo.
So where does Lubbock rank? We came in just shy of the Top 100 at no. 106 in the entire country, with our best ranking coming from recreation at no. 62. Recreation factors in number of public golf courses, tennis courts, public swimming pools, baseball diamonds, basketball hoops, parks, hiking, water parks, boating, shopping centers and bicycle lanes. (Have you ever seen a bicycle lane in the Hub City?!)
Check out the interactive map of the USA below.